Fusion Jazz Essay

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Eras of Jazz
Since the first emergence of Jazz in the late 19th century, new styles and versions of the genre have been popping up in various locations across the world. Jazz first appeared in New Orleans. This is because New Orleans was one of the only places in the world that allowed the slaves there to play musical instruments, most importantly the drums. People in New Orleans of all social groups attended VooDoo rituals, which was where European horns met African drums. The two sounds joining together was “like lightning meeting thunder”. The locals then put the two styles together and used music they heard in churches or in barrooms for inspiration, thus creating an entirely new style of music; Jazz.
The exact time of emergence of Jazz …show more content…

The jazz side of Fusion Jazz gives it a sense of sophistication and complexity from the improvisations among the musicians. The rock side of Fusion Jazz gave it the power and the hard yet simple rhythms that came from the electric guitars and basses from rock music. This style also incorporated more straight rhythms, such as eighth notes, instead of the previous swing style. Because of the wild popularity of rock music after Hard Bop jazz, the composers and performers of Jazz music wanted to get into the fad and capitalize off of it, thus the creation of Fusion Jazz. This plan worked, to an extent. Many true rock fans who did not consider themselves fans of regular, older styles of jazz enjoyed Fusion jazz more than “classic” fans of jazz. Many people do not even consider Fusion jazz to be “real” jazz music. However, many forget that Jazz music was created because people wanted to be able to interpret music however they please, not have it be constricted to the rules or guidelines of other genres. Miles Davis again holds an important role in this style of music, and created one of the most well known and important fusion jazz records, “Bitches Brew”. Other notable artists of the time and style include Chick Corea (keyboards), John McLaughlin (guitar), and Whether Report

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